[Tammy]

This year I bought a couple raspberry starts. I think they are a couple yrs old, stood about a foot tall when I got them with about 3-4 shoots coming out of the root, so a pretty decent size for transplanting.
They've done well and have grown some new shoots. I had what looked like flowering on them but no berries ever emerged. I was told when I bought these at the farmers market that I'd probably get a few berries this year, but by next year they would produce much better.

I transplanted them in my garden, so it's a good amended soil, I added some general fruit/veggie fertilizer in the hole before transplanting, put some straw around the ground for mulching and water it regularly. I'm wondering why it never produced even a few berries. Any ideas? Would this indicate my soil is lacking in something that berries require?

 

[Errol]

Tammy, it would take a soil test to know if your soil needed anything added...but alot of times when you transplant a fruit bearing plant it will take a slight set-back from transplant shock, if it has new shoots coming out, and since you had flowering then I believe they will be ok. You did good by "mulching", but since you get so much rain, keep the mulch pulled back from the main part of the plant about couple inches. This will pervent rotting. I put out this past spring 23 blackberrys that was given to me just for digging up. I dug a trench about 10 inches deep, put handful of lime, some compost, a little bone meal & cottonseed meal in the bottom of trench, then an inch layer of horse manure (composted) then the roots, water good, anf left them along and so far they looking great I should have blackberries next year. If you think you need to add something, then make a small trench on both sides about 2 inches deep and 6 inches away from the berries, then add a handful of rock phosphate, some bone meal or cottonseed meal, this will strengthen the root system & improves flowering which means more fruit
good luck Tammy
Errol

 

[Tammy]

Thanks Errol. that's helpful. I also have a very healthy strawberry patch in this same garden soil, so I would "think" it would be okay. but you are probably correct that the transplanting just shocked them a bit. I did notice the other night when I was out there that some of the original shoots on the plants when I got them are not looking very healthy - sort of yellowish and dried around the edges, but all the new shoots that have emerged since planting are fuller and very nice looking. They have probably tripled or more in size since I got them.